Insurance Insights- November 2017

Healthcare coverage is a valuable tool in keeping ourselves and our families healthy, but in recent years, the cost of health insurance keeps climbing. I'm certain you've felt the strain on your family's monthly budget, just as I have. Regrettably, on top of monthly premium payments, there's an impending tax that stands to drive our costs even higher: the federal Health Insurance Tax.

If you haven't heard of it, I encourage you to learn more about this tax, which I believe is burdensome, unnecessary and will negatively impact Florida's financial bottom line. Initially scheduled to go into effect in 2017, Congress opted to delay its implementation until January 1, 2018. While I believe this was a smart move that lowered policyholder premiums by three percent this year, without additional action, it ultimately serves as nothing more than a delay tactic.

As Florida's Chief Financial Officer, it's my job to monitor the security of Florida's finances and to sound the alarm on laws that will hurt the health of Florida's families' finances and the state's. Florida alone faces a $1.7 billion overall increase in 2018 health care premiums.

I know that Florida families simply cannot afford these increases, nor can they afford Congress to sit by and do nothing. This week, I wrote a letter to Florida's congressional delegation urging them to take swift action to address this ill-designed and costly tax ahead of its implementation.

To read a full copy of my letter, click here. I'll keep you apprised of my further conversations, and in the meantime, I strongly encourage you to research this tax and contact your congressional delegation to encourage their action on this important issue.